Windows XP End of Life (EOL) is fast approaching. Are you ready?

Important notice for users of Windows XP:

If you are currently using Windows XP today, make sure that you are running Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3) so that you can receive all the latest updates that are available.

Note: There's no SP3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP. If you're running the 64-bit version of Windows XP with SP2, you have the latest service pack. To find out what version you're running, seeIs my PC running the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows?

Also note that support for Windows XP ends April 8, 2014. If you are running Windows XP after support ends, to ensure that you will continue to receive all important security updates for Windows you will need to upgrade to a later version such as Windows 8.

For more information, see Support is ending for some versions of Windows.

To help you prepare for the pending EOL of Windows XP, we put together a few links that should help as you move to a newer version.

- A Year From Now Support for Windows XP Ends, Now What? (http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/business/archive/2013/04/08/a-year-from-now-support-for-windows-xp-ends-now-what.aspx)

- KB828287 - Unsupported Sysprep Scenarios (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/828287)

- Announcement: The ADK for Windows 8.1 has been updated: (http://blogs.technet.com/b/configmgrteam/archive/2013/10/23/announcement-the-adk-for-windows-8-1-has-been-updated.aspx)

- KB2018593 - When using USMT 4 in a Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 OSD Task Sequence, files are captured successfully but settings are not (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2018593)

- Deploying Windows 8 with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Service Pack 1: http://blogs.technet.com/b/configmgrteam/archive/2013/01/29/deploying-windows-8-with-system-center-2012-configuration-manager-service-pack-1.aspx

- How to migrate user data from Windows XP to Windows 8.1 with System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager : http://blogs.technet.com/b/configmgrteam/archive/2013/09/12/how-to-migrate-user-data-from-win-xp-to-win-8-1-with-system-center-2012-r2-configmgr.aspx

Additional online information and resources are available by visiting the Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 end of support site.

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

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